The award totals $500,000 and is paid in 5 annual increments of $100,000 made on or about July 1 of each year of the grant term. The award is not designed to cover the total cost of a research project or the investigator's entire compensation, but can be used at the discretion of the awardee to support their overall research activities.

The budget guidelines are as follows:

• Total Award: The total award amount is $500,000 payable in 5 annual increments of $100,000 made on or about July 1 of each year of the grant term. The total cost requested per year should not exceed $100,000.
• Research support: $93,500 per year should support costs directly related to the research project
• Travel: Up to $1,500 per year should be allotted specifically for the applicant’s travel to the annual meeting and for any other travel essential to conducting the study. Attendance is mandatory at the ASCO Annual Meeting upon acceptance of the grant.
• Indirect costs: Up to $5,000 per year (or 5% of the total award amount per year) can be applied to overhead or facilities and administrative costs of the recipient's institution in administering the recipient's research project.

Comparativeness Effectiveness Research (CER) is defined as the generation and synthesis of evidence that compares the benefits and harms of alternative methods to prevent, diagnose, treat, and monitor a clinical condition or to improve the delivery of care. The purpose of CER is to assist consumers, clinicians, purchasers, and policy makers to make informed decisions that will improve health care at both the individual and population levels (Institute of Medicine Report Brief, June 2009).

The TACF-BCRF Comparativeness Effectiveness Research Professorship in Breast Cancer will accept applications focusing on all aspects of breast cancer including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, delivery of care, and health economics.

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Applicants must have an MD, DO, PhD or equivalent degree.
• Applicants must have the rank of full professor (or equivalent). If current rank is not that of a full professor but meets all other eligibility criteria, a written explanation must be provided for equivalency of current rank.
• Applicants must have a full-time faculty appointment at an academic medical center.
• Applicants must have made significant contributions that have changed the direction of breast cancer research.
• Applicants must be serving as a research mentor to one or more researcher(s) in training, and must be planning to continue to provide leadership in this area throughout the award period
• Applicants must lead a research team in conducting research on comparative effectiveness in breast cancer.
• Applicants must be an active member of ASCO or have submitted a membership application with the grant application.
• Applicants must commit to spending 75% of time during the award period dedicated to research (applies to total research, not just the proposed project) including leading a team of researchers (in the lab and/or the clinic) and mentoring physician-scientists. Individuals with an endowed professorship from their own institution are eligible to apply for this award. Individuals with administrative responsibilities (such as a Division or Department Chair) must clearly document their time commitment for performing research activities and mentoring activities.
• The sponsoring institution must be a not-for-profit institution.

The ASCO Cancer Foundation reserves the right to evaluate and determine applicants' eligibility based on the information and justifications included in the application materials

Key Dates

Online Applications Open: September 1, 2009

Letter of Intent Due: November 3, 2009 by 5 pm EST

Full Application Due: December 22, 2009 by 5 pm EST

Award Notification: April 2010

Award Term: July 1, 2010 - June 31, 2015

Applicants are encouraged to start their application early due to the complexity of the online application process.

Application Process

Domestic and international applications must be submitted in accordance with the requirements and instructions of this Request for Proposal (RFP). All application materials must be in English and must be submitted online. No paper applications will be accepted.

Letter of Intent Submission
The online application will open on September 1, 2009. A letter of intent must be submitted online on or before November 3, 2009 by 5:00 pm EST. The following components are required:

1. Applicant Information

• Name
• Contact Information
• Position Title (need to be a full professor or equivalent)
• Institution
• Degree
• ASCO Member ID (Choose “Pending” if submitting a membership application with the grant application)
• Subspecialty Training Completion Date
• Initial Full-time Faculty Appointment Start Date

2. Project Information

• Project Title
• Abstract - a brief abstract of the research proposal must be entered (<350 words). Abstracts should mention the applicant’s role as a mentor in comparative effectiveness research.
• Subject Area
• Focus Area(s)
• Human Subject and Animal Use Assurances

3. Applicant’s Biosketch – Applicants can upload their current NIH biosketch if they have one available. If they do not have an NIH biosketch, they can use the template provided in the online application. The biosketch must not exceed four pages.

The Letters of Intent (LOI) will be reviewed internally by The ASCO Cancer Foundation based on the following criteria: (1) completeness of information; (2) eligibility, and; (3) appropriateness of scientific topic. After review, applicants will be notified about the status of their LOI on November 10, 2009. Only applicants who have received an approval for their LOI will be eligible to submit a full application. Applicants will not receive feedback on the LOI submitted.

Full Application Submission

The full application must be submitted online on or before December 22, 2009 by 5:00 pm EST.

Download full Request for Proposals (RFP)

FULL APPLICATION

The following are mandatory components:

1. Contact Information
2. Project Information - including abstract, IRB, and animal use assurances
3. Applicant Biosketch
4. List of Collaborators 
5. Collaborator's Biosketch
6. Research Plan
7. Cited References
8. Budget and Justification
9. Letters of Support - from Department Chair or Dean and Researchers-in-Training
10. Institutional Approval Face Sheet Signed by Institutional Approver

The following are optional components:

1. Clinical Protocol (it is strongly encouraged to attached this document)
2. Prior Publications (2 maximum)
3. Supporting Documentation (Additional Uploads)

An exclusively selected subcommittee of The ASCO Cancer Foundation Grants Selection Committee will select the recipient for this award using a peer-review process and based on the following:

• Qualifications, experience and productivity of the applicant
• Commitment to mentoring the next generation of researchers in comparative effectiveness research
• Scientific impact, merit, and originality of the applicant's ongoing research, and the ongoing research that the applicant is mentoring
• Documented effective research team leadership
• Facilities and resources available to the applicant to continue their research career and attain their career goals

Applicants will not receive feedback on the applications submitted.

For questions, please email grants@asco.org.